<p>when i think about going to sd i can't help but to think about the types of people that will go there. i know that it will be NOTHING like hs. i say this because the level of competition will increase so so much. at my school there is absolutely no competition. no one cares where anyone else is going to college, and only about 60 kids from the senior class are "AP" students as we are called. i just think that it will be strange going to school with ALL "ap" students. i am worried that the competition will get the best of me, but at the same time i'm sure i'll be successful because we got into UCSD for a reason. idk. but i am still super excited about it-- not only the independence, but the excellent education i will be recieving as well.</p>
<p>You're so going down, foooooo~</p>
<p><3</p>
<p>I am SO worried. I go to one hell of a ghetto school, and just having a 3.0 puts you in the top 15%. I'm sure I won't completely fail everything(at least I hope not), but I don't know if I can handle so many people who actually WORK for their grades. Ack.</p>
<p>there is MUCHO competition at my school, so much so that UCSD isn't very highly regarded. </p>
<p>Basically, the general mentality here is if it's not an Ivy or UCLA/Berk, it's not a worthwhile school.</p>
<p>In fact, two girls were admitted to Harvard and they became instant celebrities at my school. (only one of them is actually going)</p>
<p>Same thing went for a kid who got into Dartmouth ED...his name became synonymous with awe...</p>
<p>Actually one time when I asked a girl (who I thought was cute) where she was going and she shrugged with a hopeless sigh and said, "Berkeley...but I was accepted to Brown"</p>
<p>Same here. Well, I lie. Within the AP/honors realm, it's actually a bit bipolar. When I mention Im going to UCSD, the UCLA/Cal kids smirk with a combination of condescension and pity, while the UCI kids glower with jealousy so intense it gives me chills. Its all relative.</p>
<p>yea ppl at my school think ucsd is crap and a safety school, all those kids went to privates and cal/ucla,</p>
<p>same as everyone else.</p>
<p>it's pretty ridiculous. UCSD is put on par with UCI almost. our school has about 60 kids getting admitted to UCLA alone, so i guess that's sufficient reason. i wasn't one of them though.</p>
<p>yeah! i hear competition is a big deal, and i talked to my cousin who graduated with his masters from UCSD a few years ago, and he told me that competition actually isn't as fierce as you would think. basically all the kids attend class the first week, but in the subsequent weeks, they stop going to class, and they end up doing poorly. he says that if someone studies and attends class, they should be fine.</p>
<p>don't stress about the competition. you wouldn't have gotten into UCSD if you wouldn't have been able to handle the competition.</p>
<p>=).
-ben</p>
<p>^^^ I agree w/ ilikedonuts. No need to stress about competition.</p>
<p>haha. ben, i like how i was trying to make you feel better in yours, and now you're doing the same in mine. =] haha.</p>
<p>competition is natural, its just like competition against other kids with basically ur same scope of intelligence unless they got in because of affirmative action j/k ....... and yes i believe the ucs give special attention to affirmative action</p>
<p>they do because they can. thank you UC Regents v. Bakke (1978)</p>
<p>my school used to be highly thought of but in recent years, the general reputation has taken a bit of a dive especially in the science and math department (we lost a whole bunch of fantastic teachers to the retirement community)</p>
<p>ucsd is considered as decent here but not jaw dropping in any way since a whole bunch of people were accepted there but most chose Cal, UCLA, USC, UCR, Cal Poly Pomona, random private schools instead. </p>
<p>I completely understand what the OP is going through though. The kids outside the small group of AP & Honors are extremely apathetic. only 35 percent of our 1000+ class are going to college and in a way (because of that) i feel my heightened class rank and sense of intelligence is inflated/unrealistic. </p>
<p>i guess what i can hope for is some type of work ethic epiphany to come over me once i appreciate how much college is worth this summer (i'm getting a minimum wage job at a local fastfood joint).</p>
<p>I agree with ElizabethJackson. Besides...just work as hard as you can to earn your grades and be happy</p>
<p>There's an entry on the ucsd lj that talks about this. Search for it somewhere in March. That should help.</p>
<p>Whatevs. I'm going to beat allllll y'alls.
<3 I kid sincerely.</p>
<p>The competition at my high school really depends on the type of people you surround yourself with. We have the elitist speech & debaters, the outgoing and friendly ASB (student council), the indie kids who only care about fashion and being vegan, the spoiled but funny blondes (rich kids), the stupid slutty blondes, the brunettes-gone-blonde, the creepy anime girls, etc. It's a fcking smorgasbord.</p>
<p>kay. so it seems like the competition at your schools is just to see who is better. like... who is going to what college. i'm talking about grades wise. because only 1.5 of my classes have been graded on a curve. world cultures in 10th grade and apbio. but in bio the curve was only on tests. so yea. im saying, like, your grade depends on how other people perform. so has anyone seen that kind of competition in HS? because i feel bad for you if you did, but at least you are better prepared to work harder to get the A.</p>
<p>Most of the classes at Pres aren't graded on a curve, but the ones that are curved only occur when the person with the highest grade has at least a 90%, which doesn't make a huge difference most of the time. </p>
<p>Also, I have a question. Are any of you guys exempt from your finals? At my school, they just instituted a policy where second semester seniors DON'T have to take a final if they have an A in the class. However, if it's an AP course, they have to take the AP AND maintain an A. I guess it provides some incentive to not slack off too much just because we're already in college. Because of that, I'm only taking three finals out of my seven classes. It's pretty sweet.</p>
<p>At my school it really depends on the class you're taking.
Seniors tend to take their finals a week or so before the other grades.</p>
<p>If you're taking a regular course there's a good chance you will have a final near the middle of June, but if you're taking an AP, a lot of the classes have their finals around the AP test or not at all. So, since I'm all APs, I have no finals =), only stupid projects. But whatever. It's actually pretty ridiculous because it's the middle of May and I don't anticiapte having to bring a binder for the rest of the year to any of my classes (they are that pointless, not to mention, I stopped bringing binders/backpacks about 2 weeks ago!) </p>
<p>It's crazy how different high schools can be..</p>
<p>lucky for you, you go to a private school where they can make any policy they want. i go to public school where 1. they have to follow different laws and 2. decisions have to take effect at ALL schools which makes it harder for them to pass. i mean (if you know the area) look @ the schools in the district. you go from leland/pioneer to sj high/willow glen. that is a HUGE gap to have everyone do the same thing. </p>
<p>our policy is that everyone has to take finals in all classes. teachers just make up bs finals when they dont want to give them to students. last year in apbio it was write an essay on movies we watched after exams (jurrasic park, other hollywood movies that have something to do with science). another example is my gov class this year. we are playing the stupid wargame and reading pieces of the world is flat. the final is gunna be a few short answer questions about the book.</p>
<p>don't be afraid of studious ap students who do well only because they WORK for their grades and claim to maintain such virtues as 'ethics' and 'integrity.' they are of no real competition.</p>
<p>you should, instead, fear the little ap cut-throat criminals and would kill for the grade advocating 'survivial of the fittest,' 'natural selection,' all while practicing machiavellian politics.</p>